Mary Terese Finnegan, age 60, of Sarasota, died December 12, 2021, at Hospice House, after a courageous battle with cancer, in the presence of her devoted husband, Greg Huffman. Mary Terese ("MT") was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was the daughter of Barbara (Bunny) and Arthur Finnegan, of Beloit, Wisconsin.

MT was an adventurous traveler and experienced dive master (scuba) who dove thousands of dives including the Truk Lagoon in Micronesia, the walls of Cayman, the Blue Hole off Belize and her favorite reefs of south Florida and the Keys. She hunted (and always caught!) spiny lobster like no other. With her husband, Greg, she hiked mountains and trails, the Great Wall of China, the cities of Europe, went on Safari in South Africa and more. But nothing made her happier than enjoying time together with her husband, her family, dear friends and pets, parrot Kiddo and cat Cappie, at the warm and loving home she built together with Greg in Sarasota.
MT was so brave, moving from Milwaukee to Miami at a young age to start a new life, all on her own, where she became an experienced diver and built a career and small business in wholesale to retail fashion merchandising. Working with theme parks, specialty & department stores, she earned accolades from her clients who wished all their other business partners were as smart and helpful as Mary Finnegan.
For her friends and family, there was no person more loyal and trustworthy, who always offered a guiding and loving thought to make others' lives better. And she cared so much for the animals of our world and worried about over-development that took away the animals' homes and habitat, just to build more condos and strip malls. Going forward, to honor MT, we should all strive to live our lives caring for other people, the animals and our planet as she did.
Mary Terese is survived by her husband, Greg Huffman (of Gainesville, FL), her sisters Anne Bauman, Laura Hauser (Tim), brother Matthew (Dianne) Finnegan, brother-in law Blair Huffman (Cathy), and many wonderful nieces and nephews including Kelley (Miguel) Finnegan, Jacob and Adam Hauser, Matthew and Peter Bauman, and Brent (Arlene) and Grant Huffman, Lisa (Chuck) Byers, Jennifer Johnson, Audrey (Chad) Hatfield, and other grand nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Barbara (Allard) and Arthur Finnegan, and her brothers, Tom and Michael Finnegan.

A celebration of her life will be held Friday, Feb. 11th, at 11:30 AM, at The Point, 131 Bayview Dr., Osprey, FL 34229. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Birds of Paradise parrot rescue center in Bradenton, Florida, to help them build a new amazon parrot enclosure in the spring for feathered relatives of MT's dear Kiddo. Please mention Mary Terese & Kiddo with your donation through www.BirdsOfParadise.org.